Senate GOP vows to quickly quash any impeachment charges [View all]
McConnell could in effect call for an immediate vote and get rid of any articles of impeachment without a full trial
GOP senators say that if the House passes articles of impeachment against President Trump they will quickly quash them in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has broad authority to set the parameters of a trial.
While McConnell is required to act on articles of impeachment, which require 67 votes or a two-thirds majority to convict the president, he and his Republican colleagues have the power to set the rules and ensure the briefest of trials.
I think it would be disposed of very quickly, said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)....
Why on earth would we give a platform to something that I judge as a purely political exercise? said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another member of the Judiciary Committee. We have to perform our constitutional duty, but if people think that were going to try and create a theater that could give you the perception that this is a matter that rises to the level of Watergate, thats nonsense.
Tillis said he would support McConnell bringing the impeachment process to a quick close, and that any kind of extended trial would be rewarding what I view as bad behavior on the part of the House.